Shrimpers Trust Award Night

Sean Clohessy, Ryan Cresswell, Kevan Hurst and Jack Payne were the winners at the 2012/13 Shrimpers Trust End of Season Awards night, held in the Shrimpers Bar at Roots Hall on Tuesday 23rd April.

Defender Clohessy held off competition from second-placed Cresswell and Gavin Tomlin, in third, to claim the main prize, the Shrimpers Trust Player of the Year Award for 2012/13, with Hurst and Barry Corr also among the five nominees. The award is voted for by members of the Shrimpers Trust, and was claimed by the former Gillingham and Salisbury City right-back for the second season in succession.

Also doubling-up was second-year scholar Jack Payne. The diminutive playmaker took home the Tom Grace Memorial Shield for the Southend United FC/Shrimpers Trust Youth Team Player of the Year after heading the goalscoring charts for the Under-18 side this term. Payne has been injured for the final month of the campaign, but his outstanding performances during the early part of the season meant that he beat Mitchell Pinnock and Ted Smith to the shield, which he also won in 2011/12. Tom’s brother, Nick, was on hand to make the presentation.

The Southend Junior Shrimpers Player of the Year Award was claimed by Cresswell in his first season with the club. The ex-Rotherham United centre-back received the award from lucky SJS member George Huckfield, who was chosen at random from the entries made by our Under-16 members.

Midfielder Hurst had two of the three nominations for the Martin Cranmer Goal of the Season Award. His outstanding strikes against Brentford in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in December and against Rotherham in npower League Two in March sandwiched Ben Reeves’ last-ditch JPT effort against Leyton Orient, the goal that sent Southend United to Wembley for a national cup final foe the first time in the club’s history. It was Hurst’s effort against Brentford that scooped the prize, which was presented by Martin’s widow, Zoe.

The Shrimpers Trust would like to thank Graham Coughlan, the first-team squad, Ricky Duncan and the youth team squad, plus the backroom staff, for attending the evening, and all the members for coming to support the event. We’d also like to extend our gratitude to Scott Wallace for putting together the footage used, Scott Barber for filming the evening, Richard Smith for taking the photographs and all the committee members who helped set it up.